Ex-Eagle Jeremy Bloom: Mike Tomlin Built Winning Culture, Andy Reid Did Not
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Andy Reid came up short.
While his 14-year coaching tenure in Philadelphia was certainly successful---six NFC East Championships, four NFC Title game appearances, and one unforgettable trip to the Super Bowl in 2005---his Eagles never won the big game.
A little over 300 miles west, in the same state of Pennsylvania, Mike Tomlin began building the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2007. The following year, in just his second season as Steelers head coach, Tomlin's team were Super Bowl Champions.
Jeremy Bloom, a former Olympic skier turned successful businessman, had the chance to experience both Reid's Eagles and Tomlin's Steelers during his short stint in the NFL. Bloom says he learned from what Tomlin did right and what Reid did wrong.
"I learned some lessons when I was in Philadelphia of actually things I didn't want to duplicate," Bloom said Wednesday on the 94WIP Morning Show. "And it's not a knock on Reid or the organization, it was just an observation of what worked and didn't for me. So, the organization back then was very top down in the sense that they motivated by fear. And so players would hear everyday, 'If you don't do X, Y, or Z, we're gonna find somebody to replace you.'
Listen: Jeremy Bloom on the 94WIP Morning Show
"But in my opinion, what that did, is it put everybody on islands in a locker room where they were kind of protecting their own ground, looking around wondering who is the next person to be cut. And it didn't feel like you could really lock arms as a team.
"But when I was in Pittsburgh it was the complete opposite," Bloom continued. "It was a bottom-up organization, it was a collaborative environment and the players were really the leaders in that locker room. And Tomlin did a good job of being brutally honest with people, and to this day he's really probably one of the best leaders I've ever been around. And it was a lock arms culture. It was a collaborative environment. It felt more team-oriented and that was in 2008 at Training Camp and that Steelers team went on to win the Super Bowl that year and I don't think it was because the locker room was more talented [than the Eagles] on paper. I just think it was the culture in which was fostered to build the team on top of."
Bloom, 33, was a 2006 fifth-round draft pick of the Eagles and lasted only one season in Philadelphia. He then went to Pittsburgh for one full season and two training camps, before being released by the Steelers before that '08 Super Bowl season---ending his NFL career.
"That was a high," Bloom said of being drafted by the Eagles. "When I got a call from Andy Reid---my dad grew up in Villanova and went to Lower Merion High School. I have so much family in the area. So just to be able to go back to the area and be part of the Eagles organization for two years really was a dream come true for me."
Today, Bloom is the Co-Founder and CEO of a successful marketing technology provider based in Scottsdale, Arizona called Integrate. He is also the author of a new book title, 'Fuel By Failure,' documenting the ups and downs of his eventful life.
"What I appreciate now, is that it was actually a really successful [NFL] career for me---not because I accomplished my goals, but because I got exposure into two amazing organizations," Bloom explained. "And was able to learn from guys like Andy Reid, and guys like Mike Tomlin, and draw from their inspiration and leadership now that I'm running a pretty large company."
Bloom remains an Eagles fan today and is in full support of what Chip Kelly is building in Philadelphia.
"I one hundred percent agree with the belief that you put culture before competency and I think you see Chip Kelly do that in a couple of examples," Bloom said. "As a football fan, and I'm an Eagles fan, you kind of shake your head and say, 'How could you possibly get rid of that person?' But you don't know the full story in the locker room."
